“He told me I needed to change, to change my game and my body. And that’s what I’ve done over the last two months.

“I’ve really worked very hard to be aggressive, to be in a good shape with my body. Now I’m ready to play more often.

“So
I did a lot in the gym. But I wanted to do this, I needed to do this. The manager told me it as well. I wanted to change and I think I have. It was amazing to score a hat-trick, but I have to keep going.”

Mourinho’s
dressing room fury at his side’s insipid first-half display was understandable, even if the manager himself had given his men wriggle room by his complaints over their fixture schedule.

But once Eden Hazard decided to come to the party, his breath-taking “rabona” which should have presented Fernando Torres with a simple header, coming either side of two delightful assists for Schurrle, the writing was on the wall for Felix Magath’s Fulham.

Schurrle completed the first club hat-trick of his career – though he got one for Germany in Sweden in October – from a Torres pass, after he had feared the worst when a first-half free-kick sailed into the stands.

“When
I took that free-kick and I admit I was thinking ‘Oh my God – it’s not going to be a good afternoon for me’,” said the German.

Jamie McDonald

Match ball: Andre Schurrle gets the plaudits from his skipper

“But like the team, I changed in the second half. The team played very well, very aggressively. We needed to change our faces and we did well.”

More than well, especially with events at the Britannia working in Chelsea’s favour, although John Heitinga scrambled a late reply for Fulham.

Mourinho
hailed Schurrle’s “cold blood” instincts in front of goal – five of his
six strikes this season have come in two games after his double at Stoke in November – but conceded Hazard had been the spark.

“Eden
did it by himself,” said Mourinho. “He is not a selfish player, he wants to win, he wants to do good for the team and in the second half he
felt the team needed someone to create.

“When
Eden had the click, after him, Oscar was moving, Andre was moving, Nemanja Matic was coming up to support, Ramires was walking into areas where he can also be dangerous. He made the click and after that the team followed him.

“So he took responsibility. As an attacking player, if the team is not producing for you, you either wait and the production never starts or you decide to try by yourself. He dropped back, started getting the ball
in deep areas and beating people and from that position we started having more spaces to play.”

Mourinho continues to downplay Chelsea’s chances, insisting City are the “real leaders” because they have two games in hand.

He added: “I prefer to have the destiny in my hands and only they have that.

“If
I win every game until the end of the season, all 10 – which we won’t –
but if we do, maybe we are not champions. If they win all 12 games they
have, they are champions. They have their destiny in their hands.”

But
one of those games in hand is the trip to Old Trafford, postponed because of City’s trip to Wembley yesterday and Schurrle revealed the true state of mind at Stamford Bridge.

“Yes, we can win it,” said Schurrle. “We have to believe it. I think everyone believes it now.

“We’ve worked hard for this. But we have to keep going, keep winning like we did at Fulham. Then we’ll see at the end.”